


Survival

by Somiko_Raven



Category: Iron Man (Movies), X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers, Marriage Consummation, Mind Control, Multi, Murder, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Rape/Non-con, Poison, Slow Burn, Telepathy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:40:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26036545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Somiko_Raven/pseuds/Somiko_Raven
Summary: There comes a time when one must put themself before blood, and sometimes a forced tying of the knot can create the greatest bond one has ever known.After years of being raised by a man named Shaw after his parents' murder, Erik is given a choice. Wed the heir to the Xavier name and leave, or let his sister marry instead, while he remains with Shaw.Charles never wanted to be part of his stepfather's business deals, but is left with no choice but to marry.Tony thought that one day he could be the spouse Charles would take, but he must step back and allow the marriage to happen.
Relationships: Erik Lehnsherr/Tony Stark/Charles Xavier
Kudos: 4





	Survival

**Author's Note:**

> Characters and tags may be added as the story progresses.

Wind howled through the night sky. The wheels of the carriage creaked as they rolled over the road.

The boy’s body felt cold inside the dark carriage, but his arms stayed at his sides. Across from him was the man that had adopted him earlier that day. His name was signed just as the boy’s mother’s body was discovered in a shallow grave in another town.

_‘You are lucky, Erik,’ the man had said. ‘Only a week in an orphanage. Many children are not taken so soon.’_

_‘Why do you want me?’ Erik asked, unable to figure out why he would be singled out so quickly._

_The man’s lips quirked in a smirk. ‘You are… special.’_

_‘Special.’ Erik’s gaze rose to meet the eyes of his new guardian, his new father. ‘That is why my parents are gone, isn’t it?’_

Erik remembered the haunting smile in response. This man knew exactly what made Erik so ‘special’.

His powers had awakened merely a month ago. Nails freed from wooden structures, animals released from their metal cages. The news quickly spread. Villagers looked upon him with fear.

And then his parents disappeared, and Erik was sent away to an orphanage in a city nearby, a place where Erik knew no one.

The man known as Sebastian Shaw found him there. It was like he had been waiting. Erik worried how true that might be.

“You are going to like your new home,” Shaw told him now.

Erik turned his head from the window and caught sight of Shaw’s face bathed in moonlight. “What will you do to me?” the boy asked.

That disturbing smile returned. “I will make you strong, Erik.”

The carriage came to a stop outside of a gate until it was opened by a youthful man, his long dark hair tied in a tail. The horses were then led inside by the coachman.

Erik held his breath as they came to a final halt. The coachman came to the door and opened it.

“After you, Erik,” Shaw said, his eyes never leaving the boy.

Erik looked at him a moment before climbing out. He gazed up at the cold looking building that stood two levels. He could not tell exactly how many rooms were inside, but it was massive compared to his family’s old house in the village.

He felt Shaw’s hand land on his shoulder. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

Erik swallowed. This was really happening. He would never see his parents again. They were gone, and this was his new reality.

Leading him to the door, Shaw said, “If you don’t love it yet, you will learn to.”

The coachman opened the doors as the gatekeeper caught up to them. The two stepped inside and faced Shaw and his new charge.

“Welcome home, sir,” the gatekeeper stated.

“Thank you, Janos,” Shaw told him. “Azazel,” he said to the other, “if you could take our coats.”

Azazel took the coats from Shaw and Erik and then vanished in a red flash. Erik could only stare at where the coachman had been, smoke fading away, but then he reappeared with another red flash. But Azazel’s hat and own coat were removed as well now, and Erik saw that the man’s flesh was a bright red, his hair thick and black.

“Janos,” Shaw said, catching the boy’s attention with his words, “meet Erik.”

“Erik.” Janos bowed his head in greeting.

Erik simply nodded back before he was led across the foyer by Shaw.

“There is one more person for you to meet before you can retire for the night, son.”

“There is?” Erik asked.

“Yes. Your new sister.”

“I have a sister?”

Shaw took him to the drawing room. A girl near Erik’s age watched them from the settee, her forgotten book resting beside her. She stood and Erik felt an ache in his head, a shrill noise ringing in his ears as various memories were plucked from their places and viewed before it stopped.

But a light hum did remain and then he heard a voice. _Hello, Erik._

It had been a girl’s voice and she was the only one there, but how could she speak without ever moving her lips?

“I sent a message to your brain,” she explained.

“How?”

“My powers. They involve mind reading, communicating… and this.” Her skin hardened like a gem. “Nothing can hurt me like this.”

“Yes. Emma is a very unique girl,” Shaw murmured. “So unique that the people of her town were ready to burn her like a witch.”

“Witches are not real,” Erik muttered. “But monsters… that would be us.”

Shaw turned to him. “We are not monsters. We are the next phase of human existence.”

* * *

Music played as partiers danced and glided over the dance floor. Charles would have found the sight almost beautiful if he did not have a building headache from all the voices in his head.

_\- did you hear - poor child - the Stark boy is - is he staring - oh, but Lady Xavier -_

Charles shut his eyes and tried to tune them all out. With a deep breath and plenty of effort, he was able to build walls to protect himself. They were brittle things full of holes, but he was still learning, and with no one to really guide him, he had to figure it out on his own. At least the voices in his head were quieter now.

He leaned on the wall and spotted his mother. She wore a happy face as she danced with her husband Kurt Marko.

Charles wished the man had never joined their family. Bruises from the boy’s unfortunate dealings with his stepfather were hidden beneath the fabric of his clothes.

He turned away from them. His chest felt tight, he could barely breathe.

Walking out of the ballroom, Charles began to wander the dark halls of Stark Manor. He knew that Howard and Maria Stark had a son his age, but Charles had yet to meet the boy. He certainly had not been at the party.

As he turned down a corridor, Charles stopped upon hearing yelling. It felt too familiar. He hid behind a small cabinet. He had done nothing wrong, he knew that, but it took repeated reminders to himself that the rage was not directed at him. It was _not_ directed at him!

A man stormed out of one of the rooms. Charles recognized him as Howard Stark. He was normally calmer, even playful when in public. But Charles could clearly see the man had a loud temper in private.

Howard passed Charles’ hiding spot, muttering to himself. The boy watched him disappear into another hall, and when he was sure the man would not return, he hurried into the room Howard had left. He found a dark-haired boy about his age inside, collecting pages that were torn from a leather bound journal laying on the floor.

The boy startled as Charles quietly approached and began helping. He tried to appear calm, but there was a tremor in his voice when he asked, “Who are you?”

“My name is Charles. Charles Xavier.”

“Oh!”

Charles lifted his eyes from the gathered pages to look at him.

“So it was your father that…”

“Lost his life to illness?” His gaze dropped back to the pages once more. “Sure.”

“Listen, I really am sorry about your family’s loss,” the boy said. “My dad doesn’t buy the illness story though. He says Lord Xavier was too healthy to fall severely ill so quickly and then… well, you know.”

Charles gave the boy a smile. “Glad to know I am not the only one that thinks so.”

“Yeah. Oh, I’m Tony, by the way. Tony Stark.”

“I already know that, Anthony.”

“Anthony?” the boy questioned as he was offered the pages. “Okay, two things. I don’t like things being handed to me, and do not use my full name. Only old people do that.”

“But I like Anthony.”

“Well, how would you feel if I called you Charlie instead of Charles?”

“Charlie? You would give me a nickname?”

“Yup.” Tony folded his arms with a nod. “Mister Charlie Xavier.”

Charles giggled. “Okay, sure. I do not mind that.”

“You don’t?”

“No one else has ever given me an actual nickname before. Ah, but, only you can use it. No one else.”

“Not even Rhodey? Or Pep? Or Brucie?”

“I don't even know who they are,” Charles told him.

“They’re my friends.”

“Oh. Well, not even them.”

Tony was quiet for a minute as he watched Charles set the pages down. “What if they were your friends too?”

**Eight Years Later**

A breath slowly left Erik as he tried to calm himself while he avoided Emma. He had woken in her room that morning, having no memory of ever entering. But he knew her appetite, knew what she had him do when his defenses were at their lowest.

He closed his eyes and strengthened his shields. But then the door opened and he faced it, feeling only minor relief upon seeing Shaw instead of her.

“Hello, Erik,” Shaw told him, a grin lighting his face. “I have a job for you. It will be long term.”

Shaw’s jobs usually included thievery, murder, and on two occasions kidnapping, but Erik could already feel that this one was different. “How long?”

“It will either last the rest of your life, or the rest of his.”

Erik narrowed his eyes. “What?”

“A marriage arrangement,” Shaw explained. “Surely you have heard of the name Xavier.”

“Yes. Everyone knows of the patriarch’s death years ago.”

“Of course. That… illness he had.” Shaw’s grin grew. “That was a beautiful one.”

“You did it,” Erik muttered.

“My hands are clean. All I did was provide Kurt Marko with a name. That’s all. But now he wants more.”

“What more could he want?”

“Connections,” Shaw stated. “Business connections.”

Folding his arms, Erik asked, “And what do you gain from this _arrangement_?”

“The Xavier boy.”

Not much was known about the only heir to the Xavier name other than his close friendship with Howard Stark’s brat, a relationship that was rumored to be even closer than that.

“What do you want with him?” Erik questioned. “Money?”

Shaw laughed. “Marko and Lady Xavier spent the fortune already. No, this young man is gifted with special powers.”

“What are they?”

“Now, now, Erik. I must let you be surprised by _something_ , right? You will learn very quickly just what he can do.”

“I might just consider declining then.”

“You could. But going through with it will get you out of the family home and into your own with your new spouse. If you insist on saying no, though, I could ask Emma.”

Erik stared at him. “You would let me leave?”

“Yes.” Shaw stepped up to him. “On the condition that you convince Xavier to help his new family from time to time.”

An escape from Shaw’s under roof. If he refused and the role of new spouse was passed to Emma, he would be freed from her mind control and desires, but he would still be stuck with Shaw and his bidding. Erik knew that the opportunity was not a total escape from the man that stole his life and raised him as his own, but putting distance between himself and Shaw and Emma was still a kind of freedom he had not known in years.

His gaze dropped to the floor. If he accepted, the Xavier boy would be another victim under Shaw’s control, but the same would happen if the boy were forced to marry Emma, and Erik would not be as cruel as she, and would never toy with Xavier like she would.

There was only one answer.

“How soon?” he asked Shaw.

Shaw placed a hand on Erik’s shoulder. “It can be done quickly. But you would not meet him until your wedding day.”

“How quickly then?”

Releasing Erik’s shoulder, Shaw turned toward the door. “I will have a visit with Marko in the morning.”

* * *

Charles set the pen on the desk and stared at the letter he had written. Everything that needed to be said was there. All that was left was sending it to Anthony, ending their relationship.

Last week he had turned eighteen, and the two had celebrated with a night of passion. Today his stepfather informed him that a marriage had been arranged, a marriage that would put Charles in the presence of the man known as Sebastian Shaw.

Charles knew little about Sebastian Shaw. He overheard Marko and his companions speak of Shaw once or twice when deciding what to do about competition, so he must have been the type to… ‘take care of’ it.

The way his father had been… ‘taken care of’.

Marko finally admitted his involvement when Charles tried to refuse the marriage arrangement. Had threatened that his mother would meet the same end, a sudden illness with no hope of recovery. Sharon had not been the most impressive mother over the years, but Charles could never allow for her to fall to such a fate.

And so, he was bound to be married to one of the adoptive children of Sebastian Shaw.

A light tap at his door caught Charles by surprise. “Charles, are you in there? May I come in?”

He pulled open a drawer and shoved the letter to Anthony inside. As he pushed it shut once more, he called out, “If you must, mother.”

The door opened and Sharon entered. She wore a frown on her face that did nothing to smooth the deepened lines on her skin from years of stressful drinking.

Charles’ lips turned upward in a polite smile. “What did you wish to discuss?”

The woman approached her son, her voice soft when she spoke. “Kurt told me about your upcoming arrangement.” She reached toward him, her hand at his cheek. “How are you feeling about it?”

A laugh threatened to break free but he held it in. “Are you actually concerned for me?”

“Of course.” She pulled her hand away with a sigh. “I do realize I could have been better for you, but I am still your mother.”

With a shake of his head, Charles asked her, “How much have you had to drink today?”

Her eyes narrowed at him. “Now, son, is it so hard to believe I may be serious?”

He met her stare. “Very hard to believe, mother.”

She walked to the bed and sat. “I am not here to fight with you, Charles.” Her gaze fell to her hands. “He told me the name of the man he discussed the arrangement with.”

“Yes. Sebastian Shaw.”

Sharon nodded. “He is known as someone you go to when you want something done, and usually that something is not legal.”

Charles folded his arms and said, “I know. He is a perfect match for Marko.”

“I have heard terrible things, Charles. Like how he is… one of _them_.”

His body tensed, heart pounding. “ _Them_ , mother? What do you mean?”

The woman looked up at her son. “You have heard of them. Vicious freaks of nature. Inhuman powers.”

Charles closed his eyes, took a breath. “He is one of them?”

“That is what I have heard.”

“And the one I am to marry?”

“I fear that all in that house may be such freaks. They say Shaw has an actual demon working in his home.”

“I see.”

“Know that if it were up to me, I would never do this to you.”

His eyes opened and met hers. “I am sure you wouldn’t.”

“I mean it.” She stood from the bed. “But Kurt would not listen to me.”

“And am I to expect the same in marriage? A partner that would not listen?”

Sharon was quiet for a minute. “They may be even worse.”

* * *

A page was turned. And then another. Tony stared at Charles’ neat script, going through the notes they had taken after a discussion on the evolution of man and those born with unique abilities. They had summaries written of rumored individuals said to be gifted with such powers. There was a young woman that could summon lightning. A boy with angelic wings. Charles had been particularly curious about the young girl said to be able to move things, as well as communicate, with her mind.

Tony’s fingers itched to get to work. His mind had not yet decided exactly on _what_.

But he had to wait until after dinner with his family anyway. He would have gone straight to work instead if his father had not told him that he had heard some news about Charles.

At first, Tony’s mind leapt to any worst case scenarios it could conjure up. Was Charles ill? Was he… _ill_? Like Lord Xavier had been? Would Marko dare to murder his stepson just after he reached the proper age of eighteen?

There was no inheritance to gain. Charles had said his family’s fortune was nearly gone thanks to Marko and Lady Xavier.

Tony sighed, shoving the journal into a desk drawer just as there was a knock at his door. It opened and a servant peeked in. “Sir, dinner is ready.”

He sent her his best smile, a mask he had perfected over the years standing by Howard’s side. “Thank you. I will be right there.” After she left, he made sure to lock the drawer that held his journal, and then went out to the hall. He shut his door. No prying eyes would find it without his key.

He wandered through the massive home, eventually coming to the dining hall. Howard sent him a glare for arriving late but said nothing as Tony took the available chair.

Maria spoke first, giving her son a soft smile. “I am glad you could join us tonight.”

“I was told there was news about Charles,” he told her, his eyes drifting to his father.

Howard nodded. “There is. We received an invitation from Marko to attend the boy’s wedding ceremony.”

“What?” A wedding? “Wait. Charles was betrothed?”

“It is a very recent development,” Howard told him. “Marko arranged Charles’ marriage to the adoptive son of Sebastian Shaw.”

“Sebastian Shaw? I heard of the name, but…”

“He is not the type of person we associate with. Last I saw him, you were a small boy, already showing potential. That man had an eerie interest in you.”

“How so?” Tony asked.

With a sigh, Howard said, “From the moment he laid eyes on you, he wanted to take you away from here.”

“So he wanted me as a son?” Tony couldn’t help but wonder. Had there once been a chance for him to escape his father’s home? Would he have been the one to wed Charles then?

But from his father’s words, Tony realized they may never have met before marriage. And even then, he might have been promised to someone else still.

“I believe so,” Howard said in response to Tony’s earlier question, breaking his son’s train of thought. “Suspicious circumstances surround the arrival of his children. The girl was brought home the night her town’s church was burned to the ground.”

Tony stared at him. “And the son? The one Charles will marry?”

“His parents were murdered. His mother’s body was found the day he became Shaw’s.”

“So if he really wanted me, you and mom…”

“Even as careful as we are, I am sure he would find a way.”

Tony shook his head. “This marriage can’t happen.”

“We can’t stop it.”

“But Charlie’s safety is at risk!”

“That would put us between two very dangerous men. You can’t just run at them and win, Tony.”

“So what, we just accept what’s happening?”

Maria looked at her son. “We have no choice right now. If you want your friend and his family to be alright, you have to let go.”

Tony went quiet. Let go of Charles? Really?

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me on [tumblr](https://crystallized-iron.tumblr.com/)!
> 
> Unbeta'd chapter


End file.
